Traffic jams fit for a Queen: how to get around Dublin

The Queen will tomorrow tour the Guinness Storehouse, Islandbridge and Croke Park. Here’s where traffic will be hit.

ON THE SECOND day of the visit of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to Dublin, the couple are visiting the Guinness Storehouse, taking a ‘Windows’ tour of Dublin, and visiting the Irish War Memorial at Islandbridge.

The couple will then return to the city centre for an event at Croke Park before attending a State Dinner being hosted in her honour by President McAleese in Dublin Castle tomorrow evening.

Naturally enough, such a cross-town travel schedule will mean some more travel disruptions – and with the UEFA Europa League final taking place at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow evening, there’ll be even more going on.

So, for your commuting convenience: here are the roads, rails and buses that will be hampered.

Roads

All day (from 8am to 11pm) there’ll be traffic diversions on the N4 citybound at Junction 7 on the M50. All traffic heading into the city from the M50 will be diverted elsewhere along the M50 to access the city centre.

The following Sts will be closed from 09:00:

Thomas St
James St
Jones’s Road
Russell St

The following Sts will be closed from 10:00:

Merrion St upper
Merrion Square west

The following areas will be closed between 09:45 and 12:45 (traffic across the Liffey will be restricted from 10:00 to 12:30):

Phoenix Park
Parkgate St
North Quays
Stevens Lane
James St
Lombard St
Westland Row
Lincoln Place
Merrion St
Merrion Square
South Quays
Conyngham Road
South Circular Road

Most of those Sts will be closed again between 14:15 and 16:00, with cross traffic restrictions again in place:

Phoenix Park
Parkgate St
North Quays
Beresford Place
Gardiner St
Mountjoy Square
Fitzgibbon St
Russell St
Jones Road
Memorial Road
South Quays

Most of those Sts will be closed again between 18:50 and 22:10, with cross traffic restrictions again in place:

Phoenix Park
Parkgate St
North Quays
Parliament St
Lord Edward St
South Quays

A comprehensive list of the individual routes that will be available, as alternatives, are available on the Garda website. (Scroll down a bit!)

Dublin Bus

Dublin Bus will have staff on the ground in the city tomorrow to advise travellers of any disruptions to travel services. Route closures are largely in line with those outlined as part of the road closures listed above.

Most routes will operate a full service, or with local diversions in some cases. The following routes will have outright amendments, and details of alternatives routes are outlined on DublinBus.ie:

13/a
15/a/b
25/a/b/x
26
33
37
39/a
49/a
50
54a
56/a
65/b
66/a/b/x
67
68
69/x
70
74/a
77/a
78/a
79/a
83
84x
128
145
150
151

Luas

The Red Line will operate as normal except for between 08:25 and 11:30, when services will operate between Tallaght and Blackhorse only – that is, there’ll be no services between Blackhorse and Connolly/The Point during those hours.

The Green Line will operate a full uninterrupted service.

Irish Rail

There will be some brief suspension of Irish Rail services between Connolly and Pearse stations at a number of individual windows:

10:45 to 11:15
14:30 to 15:00
15:30 to 16:00

During these times, northside services will operate from Howth/Malahide and Drogheda as far as Connolly Station; and Southside services will operate from Bray and Greystones as far as Pearse.

Maynooth services will not serve Drumcondra between 10:30 and 16:00, though they will continue to observe a full route otherwise.

The Lansdowne Road station will be closed between 17:00 and 20:00, in order to allow matchgoers into the Aviva Stadium for the UEFA Europa League final.